MrSeb writes: "Throughout history there is a recurring theme of like-minded individuals coming together to create a shared “hive mind” intelligence that is greater than its constituent parts. . In the time of Socrates and Plato and Cicero, this would’ve been the local forum or sophist schools, and the Enlightenment of the 18th century was triggered by homely gatherings at salons and fueled by the steaming hotpot of coffeehouses and caffeine. Today we still use forums of course, and plenty of inventions and insight still originate from coffeehouses, but most innovation occurs in laboratories.

ExtremeTech takes a look at the six computer labs that gave birth to the digital world — from Bletchley Park in Blighty, to PARC labs in Palo Alto, and everything in between."Link to Original Source